by Emerson Rose
“You sound like you’re talking to me through a tin can. Your cell phone doesn’t sound that way.”
“Oh,” I forgot she’s hyper-aware of sounds. Her disease has made her a much better listener and facial-expression reader. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, get on with your problem.”
I decide to do just that, and I spill everything, how we met, our first date, love at first sight, Faye, Lilly, and the nanny arrangement. I end with the press coverage and my belief that Kevin was the one who leaked the story to the press. I didn’t want to stress her, but she’s going to find out about it eventually. It’s better if it comes from me.
“Why would he do that? What’s he got to gain?”
“I don’t know, maybe he has a grudge or something. That’s the problem, I don’t know a lot of things, Mom. This whole relationship just happened out of nowhere. Like I was living my life as I have been for years, and bam, I have a boyfriend. Then five minutes later, I have a boyfriend with a kid and a dead ex-girlfriend. This isn’t normal, is it?”
“Honey, all relationships are different. One couple takes fifteen years to make a commitment, another a week. The beauty of humanity is in our differences. It sounds like the two of you clicked immediately, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“So, you believe in love at first sight?”
“Sure. You don’t?”
“I didn’t believe in love at all before Alex.”
“That’s irony at its finest, baby. A woman who doesn’t believe in love gets hit between the eyes with love at first sight.”
“Mom, what am I going to do?”
“About Alex or this mess in the media?”
“Both.”
“Nothing.”
“Mom, I’m serious, I need some advice.”
“I’m serious, too. Make sure Alex knows your safe and give him some time to see if he can fix things. Then go back to him with a clear head and explain that you’re uncomfortable with how fast things are moving, and if he doesn’t like it, he’s not worth your valuable time.”
“Wow.”
“Wow what?”
“You make it sound so easy, and rational, and normal.”
“That’s because it is. Listen, sweetheart, I know you’re freaked out about the way this is going to affect your business, but if you really love Alex the way you say you do, you’re going to have to trust him. If he’s the man for you, he will protect you and your reputation.”
“He will.”
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely, with every fiber of my being, I know it.”
“Then what are you worried about?”
“Thank you, Mom.”
“That’s what I’m here for, baby. I wish you’d call me for advice more often, though.”
“I don’t want to cause you any stress.”
“Livy, my life is full of stress. A little more from you isn’t going to hurt anything. In fact, I distinctly remember telling you hundreds of times that I want to be more involved in your life. Just because I’m stuck in this bed doesn’t mean I can’t give good advice, today is proof of that. Stop trying to protect me and let me be a part of your life while I still can.”
“Mom, don’t talk like that.”
“I’m dying, you’ve known that all your life, it’s not new news.”
“I know, but do we have to be so nonchalant about it?”
“No, I suppose we don’t. Go to bed, Livy, I love you. Call me and keep me updated on what’s going on and don’t worry about what other people say. You and I know you’re a wonderful, honest, hard-working, intelligent woman. Who gives a shit what the world thinks?”
“Mom, you never curse.”
“Oh yes I do, just never around you.”
“Thanks, not for not cursing, but for everything else.”
“You’re most welcome, my girl. Good night.”
“Night, Mom.”
We disconnect the call, and I finally feel like I can sleep. I have a plan. I have the support of my mother, and in my heart, I know I have the support and endless love of Alex.
24
I’m dreaming that I’m on an island alone with a volcano, and it’s scorching hot. The ground is rumbling softly under my feet, and it’s slightly difficult to breathe. I look around and see ash and smoke coming from the volcano and try to call for help, but I can’t speak. When I look down, I have a rope around my waist, and I’m tied to a tree. I jerk my body to free myself, but it only makes me hotter.
I force my eyes to open and blink several times. The heat of the volcano is coming from a person who is spooning behind me, the rumbling ground is his soft snoring, and his arms around me tight are the reason I couldn’t breathe.
When I’ve processed that much, I look around trying to remember where I am. That’s when it all rushes back to me, and I realize I should be alone. I’m in Colorado, and I locked the door before I went to bed.
“Help!” I yell and thrash in the bed trying to free myself from this stranger’s arms. “Somebody’s in my room!” I scream and manage to reach around behind me and grab the intruder’s cock. “I’ll rip it off if you don’t let me go, I swear to God,” I say squirming in strong arms.
“Olivia, stop, it’s Alex,” a gruff voice says in my ear, and I freeze.
“Alex? What the hell are you doing in my bed?”
“I had to see for myself that you were safe.”
I feel my muscles relax like they always do in his presence. There’s a knock at the door, and I hear Jacob outside. “You all right in there, honey?”
“Yeah, thanks, Jacob, sorry.”
“No problem. Everyone’s going skiing if you two want to join us.”
“He knows you’re here?” I turn in his arms and face him nose to nose.
“Yes, I called last night or early this morning, whichever, and he let me in and unlocked your door. You didn’t hear any of that?”
I shake my head. That little shit turned his phone back on. “I didn’t get to sleep until around five. I was tired.”
“Same.”
“What time is it?” He leans over me to look at the clock. “Three-thirty.”
“No thanks, Jacob, I think I’ll take today as a loss,” I call through the door to Jacob.
“Okay, see you later.”
“Bye.”
“When did you get here?”
“Around nine o’clock this morning.”
“Where’s Faye?”
“With Greta.”
“Wait, you didn’t go to the funeral?”
“No. It wasn’t appropriate for me to be there, and after I thought about it for a while, I decided Faye didn’t need to be there after all. She’s a baby, she won’t remember any of it, and all the reporters would only upset her.”
“I think you’re right. Any luck finding the leak?”
“Yes. But, before we talk about that, I want you to promise me something.”
I lower my eyes to his bare chest. “That I won’t run without talking to you first?”
“Yes, precisely. I thought we understood each other on that. Apparently not.”
I worry my bottom lip between my teeth. “I’m sorry. It was wrong. I knew it was wrong, but I had to get away. I needed some space to work through it all.”
“And here I am in your space. Olivia, if we are going to be together, and we are going to be together, we have to work on problems as a team. I can’t worry every time we hit a bump in the road that you’re going to disappear.”
“With all due respect, we have been on a road made of boulders since we met.”
“That’s true, but there isn’t a road we can’t conquer together. We’ve had a difficult start, but I am making sure, as we speak, that things will be easier from now on.”
“What do you mean?”
“It was my mother who leaked that bullshit story to the press. You were correct to suspect Kevin, though. My mother paid him, a lot, to dig up dirt on us.
She took it and twisted it up so you would look bad, and I would be hurt in the process.”
“You’re mother?”
“Yes, I told you she’s a vindictive bitch.”
“What did you do about it?”
“I fired Kevin, of course, and I threatened to expose my mother’s pervert brother to the police if she didn’t retract the story. He’s wealthy, and has been supporting her for years. If she lost him, she would be broke and homeless, a fate worse than death for her since she’s never had to lift a finger to support herself her whole life.”
“Why? Why would she do that?”
“You make me happy. I have a child and a family, and she has nothing. Simply put, she did it to hurt me, and she almost succeeded.”
“So she came out and said she lied about it?”
“She blamed it on Kevin, made it all look like he was a jilted employee trying to get revenge, which I guess was partially true. I had no idea he was angry at me for giving a high-profile job to someone else. He never even mentioned it to me, he just let it simmer below the surface until he saw his chance to strike.”
“So you see, sweet girl, if you’d given me a chance to fix things as I asked, we would be in my bed at home instead of halfway across the country in the cold.”
“I can’t believe you did it.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence. We’re going to have to work on that.”
I reach up to cup his cheek, and he turns into my hand kissing it softly. “Alex, I have to tell you something.”
“As long as you’re not going to say you don’t want to see me anymore, tell me anything.”
“I need to take things at a slower pace. I’m not ready to move in with you yet.” There. I said it. I can’t take it back. It’s out there hovering over us threatening to end our relationship. But, as my mom said, if he can’t accept it, he’s not the man for me.
“All right. I can live with that as long as it’s only temporary.”
“Yes, of course. And, as much as I love Faye, I need to handle my business. Greta is wonderful with her, and I can help out in a pinch.”
“Fair enough.”
He is being incredibly flexible, and it’s… weird. “You’re okay with that?”
He rolls over me pushing me onto my back bracing his forearms on either side of my face. “If giving you room to breathe is what I have to do to keep you, then yes, I’m okay with that. I’m going to admit something to you. You have all the power in this relationship, Olivia. You have my heart so tied up into knots, I’d go to the ends of the earth to keep you. Whatever you want, just say it, and it’s yours. Whatever you need, I am the man who will provide it for you. If I’m suffocating you, I’ll back off. If you need more affection, I’ll lay it on you. Kinky sex, no problem. Vanilla sex, I’ll give you that, too. Kids, dogs, vacations, commitment, just don’t leave me.”
His mouth covers mine in a desperate communication of his need for me, and I open to him willingly, more than willingly, greedily. I claw his back and grip his hips with my legs pulling him closer pushing up against him making contact with as much of him as possible.
He rips my panties from my body and enters me without his usual preparation, but it hardly matters. I’m soaking wet for him. “Oh God, Olivia, there’s no way I could live without this, no fucking way,” he moans into my ear when he’s buried deep inside of me.
I whimper in response, and he takes me with a fury I’ve not known with him until now. It’s like he’s making his point with every thrust, every swivel of his masterful hips, every nip of his teeth and kiss from his lips. “I need you, I need you, I need you,” he says.
I need him, too, more than I knew until this moment. I cling to him arching my body into his, squeezing his cock with my slick walls each time he slides out of me. The sound of our bodies slapping against each other and the scent of his masculine cologne mixed with his soap drives me over the edge once, twice, and the third time, he goes with me roaring loud enough to cause an avalanche.
He collapses on top of me, and I sink further into the soft mattress still wrapped around him like a tangled rubber band. He murmurs against my ear, “You’re mine. Forever, mine and only mine. Don’t ever forget that, sweet girl, do you understand?”
“I do. Same goes for you, understand?” I say slinging some of his possessive sass right back at him.
I feel him smile against my skin, and his fingers go to my waist where he tickles me mercilessly until I can’t breathe.
“Stop! Mercy! Mercy!” I say panting.
“I love you, Olivia Johnson, someday to be Olivia Wolfe. I know you want to take it slow, but I’m still thinking fast.”
“That’s okay. I love you, too Alexander Wolfe. You might have a chance at speeding things up if you keep doing that.”
He rises up onto his elbows. “Doing what exactly? Because I need every advantage I can get.”
“You’re kidding, right? That powerful pounding you just gave me, that’s what.”
He looks surprised. “That? Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am is what you like? I can do that all day every day. We are as good as married.”
I shrug and laugh. He swells inside of me proving he’s up for the task.
“What have I done?”
“Mmm, you’ve gone and created a monster that’s what. Let me start convincing you that taking it fast isn’t a bad thing.”
“Okay, and when you’re done with that, I’ll show you how good it is to take it slow,” I say dragging out the word slow for emphasis.
“I might let you on top for that.”
“You should, you really should.”
“What about skiing with your friends?”
I lift one side of my lip with a smirk. “The only slopes I’ll be sliding down today are yours.”
“Good answer.”
25
Two months later, I feel as if Alex and Faye have always been in my life.
As I should have predicted, things have not gone slow, but not for a lack of trying on Alex’s part. As it turns out, I didn’t like slow as much as I thought.
I’m living in the main house and still trying to convince Jacob to move into the cottage. He’s hesitant after my Colorado bolt, but he’s warming to the idea after weeks of being thirty minutes away from his roommate and best friend. We still see each other, but it’s not the same.
I walk into the kitchen after work one Friday afternoon and find Alex wearing an apron that says Kiss the Cook. Faye is in her high chair with a handful of Cheerios and a spoon that she is banging like a maniac while Alex mixes something in a big silver bowl.
“What’s going on in here? Is Greta sick?” I ask putting my bag on a bar stool at the island before making my way around to kiss them both.
“Somebody has a birthday tomorrow, and I’m baking her a cake.”
I’d almost forgotten my birthday what with all the changes going on in my life. Alex and Faye aren’t the only things I’ve been concentrating my attention on lately. I opened two new Bark Avenue Bone Bakery shops thanks to Alex’s financial backing.
“How’s it feel to be twenty-eight years old?”
“I don’t know, I’m still twenty-seven. If I had to guess, though, I’d say it’s going to feel the same.”
“I have a surprise for you. It can’t wait until tomorrow.”
“Oh really? What kind of surprise can’t wait one day?”
“Let me get this cake in the oven, and I’ll show you. Will you let the dogs inside? They’ve been out for a while, and it’s going to snow.”
“Sure.” I give him a suspicious side look on my way to the back door and open it to find four bouncing fur balls excited to see me. “Hey guys, wanna come inside?”
They whine in unison, and Cole barks when I step aside to let them in. They race to the water bowl on the floor next to the sink and nudge and push each other for a drink.
Lady has grown so much in six weeks. It’s amazing how tall she is. It won’t be long
before she will be mistaken for any of her siblings.
“Lady, come here, girl,” Alex calls, and she abandons the water bowl. He wipes his hands on a towel and crouches down to pat her on the head. “Well, what’s this?” he says touching her head sounding concerned.
“What? Is she okay?” I say rushing to his side.
I crouch down to look her over and see a blue bow tied around her neck. “I didn’t notice this when she came inside. What do you have, girl?” I ask pulling her close.
She licks my nose, and I giggle. “What kind of blue would you say this is?” Alex asks.
“I don’t know, a Tiffany’s blue, I guess.”
“Ah, very good, that’s exactly right. Why don’t you take a closer look?”
My heart drops into my belly where a swarm of bees and butterflies start to dance. I follow the ribbon slowly around Lady’s neck until I come to something metal and my heart stops. “Alex,” I gasp and cover my mouth with my hand.
He takes over removing the ribbon and slipping a ring off of it. He adjusts himself so that he is kneeling on one knee. “Olivia, you have made the last three months of my life perfect in so many ways, I simply cannot take it slow anymore. Will you do me the incredible honor of becoming my wife?”
Hot tears fill my eyes and spill down my cheeks when I nod up and down. “Yes, yes, yes.” I lean forward on my knees and throw my arms around his neck causing poor Lady to yelp and skitter away.
“Oh, poor pup can’t handle all that love,” I hear my mother say.
“Mom?” I pull away from Alex, and he wipes my tears with his thumbs. “That’s my other surprise.”
In the doorway, my mom is sitting in an ultra-high-tech wheelchair that holds her securely from sliding out while giving her the ability to move with the finger on her left hand that still functions. I priced one just like it a year ago when she fell out of her standard wheelchair at the nursing home.
“Mom, how did you get here?” I say between sniffles. I’m overwhelmed and emotional and confused.
“Your fiancé made arrangements.” I look into his eyes and fall even more in love with him.
“You brought me my mom?”